When Hurricane Ivan hit Atmore in 2004, it took the steeple off First Baptist Church and destroyed much of the community around it.
Pastor Kevin Garrett said that memory came up when he was walking the church through vision-casting a couple of years ago.
“As we were going through the process of trying to figure out where God would have us, the signature identity of the church was how much the steeple, when they replaced it, gave people hope again,” Garrett said.
So the church rebuilt its vision around the idea of “the steeple and the people” — building relationships, bringing people into the Body of Christ and offering hope to the community.
For three weeks, the church will celebrate that mission in honor of its 135th anniversary. First Baptist kicked off the event Oct. 3 by honoring the past with a historical presentation and a concert by Gordon Mote. It will continue two more Sundays — Oct. 10 and 17 at 10:30 a.m. — as they celebrate the present and the future with various special guests.
And as part of the celebration, church members have fittingly fixed and repainted the steeple.
“It’s an exciting time here,” Garrett said.
He noted First Baptist has seen God do a lot over its history and a lot since June 2019 when The Alabama Baptist first told the story of the church starting its revitalization journey. At that time, Garrett had been pastor about six months, and the church was reevaluating its mission with the help of Auxano, a church consulting firm.
They’ve made a lot of progress since then, Garrett said.
It hasn’t always been easy — in the past two years, First Baptist has come through two hurricanes, replaced three damaged roofs and, of course, dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.
But overall, they’re seeing God move and grow their church and build momentum for their gospel presence in the community.
“God has been faithful — none of us were here 135 years ago,” Garrett said. “So we’re praying and seeing what He’s going to do for the next 135 years.”
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